LAMB MUSHROOM AND WINTER VEGETABLE SOUP

I am surprised, by the oohs and aahs we hear bone broth today. When I look through cookbooks and hipster café menus one would think bone broth is a revelation, a new discovery! Slow soups, stocks and cooking has been around forever in most cultures with some variations. The slow cooking draws out the flavour and minerals from the bones, herbs, spices and vegetables that make the stock base of most soups. The slow cooking method has been used forever to also make tough, cheaper cuts of meat palatable.

Somewhere, in the last 20 years with so much packet, processed food, many have forgotten or did not grow up with slow cooking. Bought stock is never the same as what you make yourself and often full of all sorts of nasties

This soup is definitely worth the effort to warm hearts and leave everyone with that cosy inner snugness, that we all need at the end of a cold winters day. This soup is seasonal, low cost, full of vegetables, rich in flavour and goodness. Everyone will be begging for seconds. Double the recipe to either freeze or have for lunches the next day. Doubling recipes and stocking up the freezer in winter saves time and takes the pressure of cooking on some nights.

Cooks note: The stock needs to cook slowly for at least four hours. If you are time poor, you can make batches up on the weekend and freeze or make the night before.

You need

1 large saucepan, colander

Cooks note: mise en place: a French cooking term for having everything in its place. This helps to keep an organised kitchen and an unflustered cook. Preparing all ingredients first, taking out the equipment you need and reading through a recipe will make cooking relaxing and fun, as it should be. Put on some music, try and keep the bench space tidy and there will be less cleaning up at the end.

Ingredients

Lamb stock

2 lamb shanks

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 1/2 litres water

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1/2 brown onion, peeled and diced

1 carrot, washed and roughly chopped

1 fennel top with fronds, washed

1 stalk of celery washed and cut into 4

fresh ground black pepper

1 handful of fresh herbs. I used sage, thyme, rosemary and parsley from the garden